Submitter Information

Prize Winner

Streaming Media

Type of Proposal

Oral presentation

Start Date

29-3-2016 10:00 AM

End Date

29-3-2016 11:20 AM

Faculty

Faculty of Science

Faculty Sponsor

Dennis Higgs

Abstract/Description of Original Work

The ability to hear is crucial to an animal’s survival. Fish have developed complex hearing mechanisms that can be influenced by the environment. For example, in catfish, high water temperatures lower the auditory threshold, or the sound intensity required to produce a response in the brain. In bats, increasing a sound’s duration increases the latency, or the time it takes to initiate an electrical response in the brain, known as an auditory evoked potential (AEP). This indicates that their brain is responding to the end (offset) of a sound. The current study will investigate auditory evoked potentials in goldfish. Here, sounds of different durations will be played to goldfish in order to study the effect of duration on AEP latency. Since bats and goldfish are both selective for shorter sound durations, it is hypothesized that the response latency in goldfish will also increase with sound duration, meaning they would respond to sound offset. Additionally, the effects of water temperature will be examined by comparing auditory thresholds at two different temperatures. Based on what is seen in catfish, it is hypothesized that increasing the temperature will lower the auditory threshold in goldfish. This study will provide insight to the impact of environmental factors such as water temperature and surrounding sounds on fish hearing. Additionally, advancing knowledge in fish audiology is crucial to the continued application of fish acoustic systems as models for human hearing.

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Mar 29th, 10:00 AMMar 29th, 11:20 AM

The Effects of Stimulus Parameters on the Auditory Brainstem Response of Carassius auratus

The ability to hear is crucial to an animal’s survival. Fish have developed complex hearing mechanisms that can be influenced by the environment. For example, in catfish, high water temperatures lower the auditory threshold, or the sound intensity required to produce a response in the brain. In bats, increasing a sound’s duration increases the latency, or the time it takes to initiate an electrical response in the brain, known as an auditory evoked potential (AEP). This indicates that their brain is responding to the end (offset) of a sound. The current study will investigate auditory evoked potentials in goldfish. Here, sounds of different durations will be played to goldfish in order to study the effect of duration on AEP latency. Since bats and goldfish are both selective for shorter sound durations, it is hypothesized that the response latency in goldfish will also increase with sound duration, meaning they would respond to sound offset. Additionally, the effects of water temperature will be examined by comparing auditory thresholds at two different temperatures. Based on what is seen in catfish, it is hypothesized that increasing the temperature will lower the auditory threshold in goldfish. This study will provide insight to the impact of environmental factors such as water temperature and surrounding sounds on fish hearing. Additionally, advancing knowledge in fish audiology is crucial to the continued application of fish acoustic systems as models for human hearing.